White-Bellied Woodpecker

The white-bellied woodpecker, or great black woodpecker, is among the largest Asian woodpeckers, 40–48cm long and 197–350g, behind only the great slaty woodpecker and the black woodpecker in size. It inhabits evergreen forests in the tropical Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia, nesting in large dead trees, often beside rivers. Populations differ in the distribution and extent of white; one subspecies has whitish underwing coverts and a white rump (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is closely related to the black woodpecker and the North American pileated woodpecker. Its drums and calls are louder than those of smaller woodpeckers. Solitary adults may spend an hour foraging at one suitable tree, feeding mainly on insects such as ants and grubs from under bark and sometimes on fruit (Wikipedia, general species account).